Based on poet Jimmy Santiago Baca's actual life experiences, the film targets half brothers Paco and Cruz, along with their cousin Miklo. It unlocks into 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the"Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on the way the barbarous offense and the influence of narcotics alter his or her own lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he leaves a"home" for the himself. Cruz becomes a exceptional artist, however he is overcome by a heroin addiction . Paco becomes a cop and a enemy for his"carnal", Miklo.